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Routed dadoes Rout a pair of carcase sides (or one) by running the router base against a straightedge, positioned with the gauge shown below. A batten keeps the two sides aligned while you rout. Ton creates the tongue by running the router base against a straightedge as for routing a dado. Rabbet a piece of scrap exactly the same thickness as the top to check bit depth. The tongue should be a snug fit in the groove, as for dadoes. The drawback of this method is that if gue the top isn't uniformly thick, the tongue won't be either. The tablesaw method shown below overcomes this problem. Set up the saw with a single sharp crosscut or combination blade. Cut the shoulder first, running the end against the fence, the outside face down on the table. Make the same cut in several pieces of scrap to use for setting up the second cut. For this second setup, the distance be- To position the straightedge, make a gauge equal to the distance from the edge of the base to the router bit. on the table so the dadoes will be uniformly deep. (Waxing the table and fence also helps.) After cutting the first pair of dadoes, reset the fence and cut the next pair and so on. (If you're making adjustable shelves, dado for the top shelf now and you're done.) I work off one end to about the mid- dle, then work from the other end. If the sides are square, this shouldn't cause any problems. Most tablesaws can clear up to 24 in. between the blade and fence, so this procedure will work for bookshelves up to 4 ft. tall. Dadoes can be routed by guiding the router base against a straightedge. First make a gauge for pOSitioning the fence, as shown in the drawing above. Narrow sides can be routed in pairs. Lay them inside-faces-up on a flat surface, aligned and tight together. Clamp the straightedge below and parallel to the first dado, positioning it with your scrapwood gauge. Rout the first dado, slide a scrapwood batten into the grooves to keep the sides aligned, and repeat the procedure for the next dado. If your router base is round, always run the same spot against the fence unless you're sure the base is concentric with the bit. With a little thought, you can figure Out various easily made jigs to speed up the process. Without them, however, I think the tablesaw is faster-it's a readymade jig for pOSitioning the cuts. Grooves: On the tablesaw, set up the dado head to the right thickness and height, and run the end of the side against the fence as for dadoing. Position the groove slightly farther from January/February 1985 the end than the thickness of the top so you have only to plane off a little end grain to clean up the joint after assembly. If you rout the groove, guide the router base against a clamped-on fence as for dadoing, or use the adjustable fence that comes as an accessory on most routers. Tablesawn tongues Lay the workpiece flat on the table for the first cut. Run it end-up against the fence as shown here for the second. tween the fence and the blade should equal the tongue's thickness, which eliminates the need for uniform thickness. Adding a tall wooden fence to the rip fence will help you keep the top perpendicular to the table. Few boards are dead flat, so I clamp a wide feather board to the saw table, positioned so the pressure it exerts will push the top flush to the fence for several inches on both sides of the blade. Test the setup on the scrap, then cut the real thing. (Stand to one side as you complete the cuts, in case the saw kicks the waste back.) -R.H. s: You can rout the rabbet that 59